Here’s a video of Bill Hammack, peofessor of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Illinois explaining the mechanism behind a quartz watch.
Bill demonstrates how the reliability and cost effectiveness of the quartz watch revolutionized industry by providing cheap, infallible time keeping.
Most interesting of all is how the watch uses the principle of resonance to measure time, in much the same way as the very first renaissance clocks.
Ben Goldacre, the author of ‘Bad Science’, is one of the leading proponents of skepticism and the proper use of the scientific method.
In this talk from the annual Poptech conference in Maine, USA; he shows us the dangers of non-evidence based medicine as a threat both to our wallets and our health.
Using examples of some very well known (and respected) people, the talk is as funny as it is frightening.
Liz Bonnin is to present a new science show, Bang Goes The Theory, on BBC 1 in July. The BBC website has an interview with Liz about the new show on the site. It’s a 10 part show with thre other co-presenters, Dallas Campbell, Jem Stansfield and Dr Yan Wong. Each week the presenters will look at the science and technology that surrounds us. One of the episodes will see Bonnin get into a rescue submarine in Norway, a state-of-the-art tiny submarine, to find out how it works and why it doesn’t collapse under an incredible amount of pressure. Last year, Liz was the MC for some of our Science Week lectures which are still available to view online.
The Science Gallery has posted a series of interviews with members of its Leonardo group onto YouTube. One of the interesting interviews is with musician Chris De Burgh, who outlines why science is important from a cultural perspective and why he has gotten involved with the programme.
Sinead Kenny is a design engineer. In the video below she gives an overview about her varied job, why people might pursue this career path, and what type of skills you need to pursue this engineering role.
James Stewart is a Senior Educator with W5, an interactive discovery centre in Northern Ireland. James explains his role at W5 and how he ended up o his career path in the video below.
Dr Catriona Jackman talks about her role as a planetary sciencist. Jackman discusses the subjects she studied in school, the skills students should think about, what she studied in university and her day-to-day role.
